Re: 2018 Health and Fitness Thread

jrock645- OK, I like the sound of that "geting my heartrate so high"

This morning was quickie day on the StairMaster, just 15 min. total with the middle 5 being the 2Work:1Rest Intervals and supposedly burning about 180 cal. (the whole 15 minutes supposedly burned nearly 400, like maybe 390 or so).

Re: 2018 Health and Fitness Thread

Best exercise machine I ever used was a Nautilus brand stepmill. I would go 30 minutes on that thing and would get off dripping with sweat. I probably wouldn’t last 5 minutes on it now. I think stairs burn a crazy amount of calories, however, I’m always a little skeptical of the “calories burned” that are calculated by machines. They always seem too high to be true.

Re: 2018 Health and Fitness Thread

LEDetailing- Yeah, I figure such stuff reads optimistically on purpose to keep customers happy, but gee that sounds cynical

There are all sorts of cool steppers out these days, I have to guard my VISA by telling myself the StairMaster (old PT4000 model from `89) is simply how I`m doing that. I`d *really* like a treadmill with a higher incline than our Precor, but eh...the cardio room has a lamentably low ceiling anyhow (that`s what I tell myself to avoid *that* purchase ).

Yeah, back when I was doing longer sessions, I too was simply *soaked* by the time I finished, looked like I stepped out of a pool. These days it`s over so fast I don`t really perspire that much despite doing a *LOT* harder workout.

Re: 2018 Health and Fitness Thread

Put in a good one today.

Started out with the military calisthenics which is jumping jacks, push-ups, mountain climbers, bodybuilders, flutter kicks, dive bombers, leg lifts, squat thrusts, bicycles, pull-ups and dips. Only takes 15 minutes but I’m usually soaked and about spent from that. I like it because it’s quick but hits a lot of positives: functional strength, general conditioning, core and posterior chain, and has some plyometric elements to it. Its the day’s warm up for Marine recruits, designed to get you in shape quickly.

After that did 30 minutes on the elliptical then swam 25 laps. Finished with 20 minutes in the sauna.

Re: 2018 Health and Fitness Thread

jrock645- Sounds like you *did* put in a good one, and yeah you`ve done enough for one day!

How often do you do those? Do you typically do both the Mil PT workout and then the elliptical/swim on the same day?

I just finished legs after doing the "quick and easy" ( heh heh, scare-quotes intentional ) Stairmaster cardio this morning. Same 15 minutes on that one that you put in on your functional/general workout, I sure was breathing although not as much as after either set of squats.

Sorta funny, but I don`t break a sweat all that much during my cardio sessions. Maybe it`s because the workouts are generally so short, or the basement is cool, but it still seems odd that I can get *so* played cardio-wise without perspiring a lot. I used to sweat a lot more when I was going longer but not as hard. When I do a long, but infinitely easier, inclined hike on the treadmill I`ll sweat a lot, but it`s not demanding enough to be a "workout" IMO, more like merely "activity".

I`m not doing much more today either..."sorry dogs, you`ll have to wait until tomorrow for an outing"..though they don`t seem to care that my legs are played

Re: 2018 Health and Fitness Thread

At one point, I was doing the PT almost every morning before work. It’s a bit much for my back at times, so I’ve cut down on it. I do it a couple times a week these days. Usually I’ll do it and the elliptical OR swim. And basically that comes down to if there’s an open lane in the pool when I get to the gym and if I have time to wait or not. It’s my backup workout for when I can’t swim. Should get back to doing it a bit more often, just not every day. Day off work today so I had time to do a bit of it all.

Re: 2018 Health and Fitness Thread

Originally Posted by Accumulator

...[Yesterday I posted].."sorry dogs, you`ll have to wait until tomorrow for an outing"..though they don`t seem to care that my legs are played

And now it`s yesterday`s tomorrow and they`re ready to go...never mind that I sure feel that leg workout and just spent over four hours (gee, time flies whether I`m having fun or not..) picking up sticks/limbs!

Re: 2018 Health and Fitness Thread

Just bumping this so I don`t forget there *is* a 2018 version It appears the Mods deleted the redundant one as per my request.

While I`m posting on it...

Scheduling/etc. resulted in my wife going 3 weeks between both her Chest/Tri and Leg workouts; her progress had stalled on both and (why am I not surprised?) going that long resulted in more reps *and weight* on most sets for both. That`s with just one set of each exercise and not all that many exercises per muscle group. She went two weeks between Back/Bi/Forearm workouts, and the progress was far less significant (but at least there was some).

Same ol` same ol`....recovery matters as much as the exercise, and overtraining really *can* be an issue, it`s not merely some excuse for doing less. Well, at least not for some people.

Re: 2018 Health and Fitness Thread

Been dealing with an interesting issue of late. My sweat smells like ammonia. And I mean my workout clothes smell like you dumped a jug of window cleaner. Think I figured out the issue. The ammonia smell evidently is a byproduct of breaking down protein. My cardio sessions of late have been 30-40 minutes with HR in the 150ish range- I’ve been pushing. Diet has been good solid keto, verified by test strips. Despite that, very little progress. I backed the intensity down on the cardio today, kept HR below 140. No ammonia smell. Gonna keep it like that for a couple of weeks and see how it goes.

Re: 2018 Health and Fitness Thread

Did Keto for a solid 6 months and dropped 40lbs. Really enjoyed the diet once I got over the keto flu. Had great energy throughout the day. My cardio actually improved and I was also able to increase strength while losing body fat. Can’t go wrong with that. Anyways, the ammonia smell is actually common while on keto. Basically your body is metabolizing protein. Basically protein turns into ureic acid and because your body can’t get rid of it fast enough through the kidneys out it goes through the sweat glands. My biggest issue for me was the acetone breath. Anyways, good luck. I’ll be back in it soon.

Re: 2018 Health and Fitness Thread

jrock645- Yikes, that`s quite a drop in targeted HR ...what`s your actual HRmax? I`m not even warmed up by 150bpm and 140 is roughly where I am when doing a vigorous dog-hike (if I keep moving!)...curious why you`re doing long sessions at that level for your *cardio*.

jrock645 & usmcpab- What`s the idea behind breaking down protein being OK? Not being critical, but it all sounds utterly weird to me...I mean, I burn carbs and fat, use lean protein to build muscle, just eat tons of "balanced diet normal food" and that`s that.

Oh sheesh, the preceding sounds all critical and I don`t mean to come across that way...it`s just like, uhm...on both points you`re doing the exact opposite of what works so well for me.

Re: 2018 Health and Fitness Thread

Originally Posted by Accumulator

jrock645- Yikes, that`s quite a drop in targeted HR ...what`s your actual HRmax? I`m not even warmed up by 150bpm and 140 is roughly where I am when doing a vigorous dog-hike (if I keep moving!)...curious why you`re doing long sessions at that level for your *cardio*.

jrock645 & usmcpab- What`s the idea behind breaking down protein being OK? Not being critical, but it all sounds utterly weird to me...I mean, I burn carbs and fat, use lean protein to build muscle, just eat tons of "balanced diet normal food" and that`s that.

Oh sheesh, the preceding sounds all critical and I don`t mean to come across that way...it`s just like, uhm...on both points you`re doing the exact opposite of what works so well for me.

Im certainly not saying that breaking down protein during exercise is good. Its that realization which is having me back down my trgeted HR during cardio sessions. Certainly dont want muscle wasting. Breaking down protwin is the explanation of the ammonia smell. Its new to me, but so is the brand of carsio ive been doing lately. Typically always just rode the sttionary bike at home for hitting fat loss goals and my HR was typically around 120 or so. Deapite the amount of exercise, this ammonia smell from breaking down protein, instead of fat might explain the lack of progress. Good news is I typically drink some BCAA’s during my workout so i was probably burning those much moreso than muscle protwin.

Re: 2018 Health and Fitness Thread

jrock645- OK, I just don`t get the idea behind modest-intensity cardio for anything other than warding off arterial stiffness, wouldn`t expect it to work well for something like fat loss.

Actually, everything ive ever read said cardio for fat loss should either be low intensity(in relation) to HR or be HIIT. Once your HR hits about 140, its not cardio anymore, but aroebic exercise. That burns carbs instead of fat. In keto, theres no carbs to burn so youll burn protein instead.